At 03.20 hours on 7 March 1942 the unescorted and unarmed Steel Age (Master Ralph Jones) was hit on the starboard side by two G7a torpedoes from U-129 about 130 miles northeast of Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. The first torpedo hit amidships and the second between the #4 and #5 hatches, causing the ship to sink by the bow within two minutes. Eight officers and 25 crew members were lost. The sole survivor, an able seaman, jumped on a nearby life raft and was picked up by the U-boat after 20 minutes. He was landed at Lorient on 5 April and taken to the POW camp Marlag und Milag Nord near Bremen.